WWE News Roundup: 7-time champion confirms retirement, Tiffany Stratton suffers wardrobe mishap, AJ Styles will return?

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#5. Ex-WWE stars The Good Brothers think AJ Styles will return to the ring

Earlier this year, the company paid tribute to AJ Styles in Atlanta on Monday Night RAW, and several familiar faces made an appearance to honor The Phenomenal One. While Styles has confirmed his retirement, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows think that it’s only a matter of time before he returns to the ring.

In an interview on TMZ’s Inside The Ring, Anderson stated that the Men’s Grand Slam Champion will return to the ring in a year or two. Meanwhile, Gallows added that Styles has a son training to become a wrestler, and The Phenomenal One would definitely step out of retirement for his son in the future.

The former WWE Champion himself has stated that he wants to share the ring with his son when the time comes. It’ll be interesting to see if The Good Brothers’ prediction comes true in the coming years.

#4. New champion crowned on WWE SmackDown

In December 2025, Carmelo Hayes became the new United States Champion when he defeated Ilja Dragunov. In the coming months, Hayes put in incredible performances and brought prestige to the title. The rising star was set to enter WrestleMania as a champion, but that won’t happen.

Unfortunately, the management had other plans. On the recent edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Sami Zayn answered Carmelo Hayes’ Open Challenge. Due to Trick Williams’ interference, Zayn won the United States Championship for the second time in his career.

Later, the new champion confronted Nick Aldis, and Aldis booked a one-on-one title match between Sami Zayn and Trick Williams for WrestleMania 42. As of now, there’s no update on when Hayes will get a rematch for the title ahead of the biggest event of the year.

#3. Tiffany Stratton suffers a wardrobe mishap on WWE SmackDown

2025 was the year of Tiffany Stratton as she dominated the women’s division for nearly 300 days. From beating legends to rising stars in the industry, Stratton became the face of the women’s division on Friday Night SmackDown and went on a hiatus when she lost the title to Jade Cargill.

Unfortunately, 2026 hasn’t been the year of Tiffy Time, as she failed to punch her ticket to WrestleMania twice. On the latest edition of WWE SmackDown, the 26-year-old star faced the Women’s United States Champion, Giulia, in a non-title match and suffered a wardrobe mishap.

Incidents like these have occurred on television, and the company broadcasts a black screen, which allows the performers to make quick adjustments. It recently happened with Stratton during commercials. Sadly, she didn’t win her match against Giulia heading into The Grandest Stage of Them All.

#2. Major WWE stipulation returns for WrestleMania

WrestleMania often features a personal feud on the card, and the matches come with high stakes in such scenarios. Earlier this year, Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre continued their feud from last year when The Samoan Werewolf returned and accidentally helped The Scottish Warrior.

However, Fatu corrected his mistake from the past when he stopped McIntyre from using a steel chair in a title match, which eventually made Drew lose the strap to Cody Rhodes. The two heavyweights continued their feud without the title and often brawled on the blue brand.

On the latest edition of WWE SmackDown, Nick Aldis confirmed that their upcoming bout at WrestleMania 42 will be an unsanctioned match. The company used this match last year for a feud between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. However, the stipulation was last seen at WrestleMania in 2017 when Seth Rollins faced Triple H.

#1. Ex-WWE star Mojo Rawley confirms retirement

Dean Muhtadi, fka Mojo Rawley, was in the Stamford-based promotion under the old regime. Rawley had a short stint on WWE’s main roster as The Hype Bros, but earned success in his singles run, winning the 2017 Andre the Giant Battle Royal and the 24/7 Championship on seven occasions.

In 2021, he was released from his contract and didn’t wrestle for any major promotion in the industry. In an interview with The Takedown on SI, the 39-year-old star confirmed that he has retired from full-time in-ring competition as a performer.

However, he hasn’t shied away from a final/retirement match and would be open to it if the opportunity presented itself in the future. It’s been six years since Rawley had his last match, and it’ll be interesting to see if he gets a retirement match under any promotion in the coming years.